One of the most commonly used types of locks securing doors in residential and commercial applications is the deadbolt. As is well-known, a deadbolt can only be moved between its retracted (unlocked) and extended (locked) positions by rotating a lock cylinder with a key. The deadbolt, when in its extended position, penetrates into a bolt opening of a door frame. It is difficult to defeat a deadbolt by so-called “jimmying” action. Regardless, most doors locked with deadbolts can be opened by exerting on such door a brute force sufficient to break the frame in the bolt opening area.
Conventional multipoint door locks alleviate this problem by providing additional elements that extend from the door into the door frame when locked. The amount of force required to overcome multipoint door locks is multiplied in view of the number of additional elements.
However, conventional multipoint door locks are expensive in part because they require important modifications to the doors on which they are installed. In fact, many doors cannot be modified to accommodate the installation of conventional multipoint door locks. When it is possible to install a conventional multipoint door lock on an existing door, this can only be achieved through a labor-intensive process. Some doors are provided with factory-installed multipoint door locks; however the cost of these doors is usually prohibitive
Therefore, there is a need for techniques that compensate for above described limitations of conventional multipoint door locks.